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to me, it's a bit about acceptance, for one. there are places that are so uniform that what is "eccentric" is shunned based on surface impressions due in part to lack of exposure and familiarity, regardless of what it might have to offer.
beyond that, there's a lot out there on how lack of diversity can result in lack of adaptability and survivability. some of that makes sense to me, as well.
maybe people do become biggoted in the other direction - against anyone that's not minority. maybe some of those you see as "biggots" in that way are more reactionary to the skepticism and standoffishness of some of those nonminorities that they can feel. the distance and skepticism can be due, in some cases, to fear, at least to some degree. i guess there's plenty of possibilities, and there's probably a bit of overreaction on both sides going on. though it seems to me that with exposure and understanding, there can be less of that from both sides.
when it comes to things like affirmative action (or "pandering", per a previous post), it appears to me that can have many results, some good, some less good. some of the good might be that a bit of what's accomplished by people can have to do with what they believe can be done. with role models, such belief is shaped in part. also, it seems that affirmative action can counter some inherent prejudice. i suppose it can also result in some affirmation of prejudice or "you didn't deserve this" kinds of thoughts. it's not a simple thing, and there are probably countless arguements either way.
whether or not it's "overdone" as you'd put it in your initial post - hard to say.
Last edited by hello-world; 05-21-2007 at 10:12 PM..
Many people just assume that if an area isn't ethnically diverse then it's a racist community. In fact we have had it drilled into our heads over and over that diversity means strength. But in reality the opposite is true. It takes a lot of work for people with diverse backgrounds to get along.
On my street alone we have a gay couple, a black family, and a house with about 20 Hispanic people living in it. The black family has three vehicles with extremely loud stereos, you can hear them over a block away, and when parked in their driveway they will leave the music cranked up frequently for 20 to 30 minutes at all hours of the day and night. So the gay couple calls the cops on the black family several times a week. So one of the black kids waited until the gay couple pulled down their gay pride flag, (one of the two has a kid that visits one weekend a month, and they pull the flag down when he visits), and he outs the guy in front of his kid. The Hispanic house hold, like I said has lots of people living in it. Of course they all drive and park where ever is most convenient. Which frequently means their neighbors driveway.
When you have a lot of diverse people living together in a community, it takes a lot of work for them to get along. People make a big deal over diversity because a diverse environment usually means people are going to get their space intruded and stepped on by people who are going to frequently offend them. And usually the people that appreciate diversity the most are the ones who do most of the stepping.
Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawkeye48
Many people just assume that if an area isn't ethnically diverse then it's a racist community. In fact we have had it drilled into our heads over and over that diversity means strength. But in reality the opposite is true. It takes a lot of work for people with diverse backgrounds to get along.
On my street alone we have a gay couple, a black family, and a house with about 20 Hispanic people living in it. The black family has three vehicles with extremely loud stereos, you can hear them over a block away, and when parked in their driveway they will leave the music cranked up frequently for 20 to 30 minutes at all hours of the day and night. So the gay couple calls the cops on the black family several times a week. So one of the black kids waited until the gay couple pulled down their gay pride flag, (one of the two has a kid that visits one weekend a month, and they pull the flag down when he visits), and he outs the guy in front of his kid. The Hispanic house hold, like I said has lots of people living in it. Of course they all drive and park where ever is most convenient. Which frequently means their neighbors driveway.
When you have a lot of diverse people living together in a community, it takes a lot of work for them to get along. People make a big deal over diversity because a diverse environment usually means people are going to get their space intruded and stepped on by people who are going to frequently offend them. And usually the people that appreciate diversity the most are the ones who do most of the stepping.
i don't assume racist in nondiverse places. i do find that in nondiverse places that there is a different dynamic in people, though. something that stays a little closer to the surface, somehow, or seeming a lot like "being sort of sheltered" for example. i'm even in with the masses in some of these places, but i still feel it. and i've lived in places where people are from all over the world, and it could actually be easier to get along. people were fascinated by each other - there were some similar weird competitive politics or personalities that seem hard to get away from most anywhere, but it seemed richer (in terms of interactions).
I live in ( well just outside) Oxford, England and it is fantastically diverse due to all the students, academics and people who come from all over the world and the UK of course. You hear all sort of languages from Russian to Zulu, you meet people who are from places you have never even heard from and the place is a melting-pot of nationalities and cultures. It is a relatively small city ( around 130000 people) but it has an incredibly cosmopolitan feel and I love it. Diversity is wonderful and I do value it but on the other hand it should not be "forced".
The very small town I actually live in is completely the opposite in Oxford , very few black or Asian people for example ( quite a few foreigners but they just blend in somehow) but it's great as well , as it is just the way it has happened. Diversity should be an organic thing, not something planned for.
I do think though that a cultural diverse society is richer and far more fun, more interesting too. I am always humbled by how little I know of some places and cultures when I meet all those fantastic people in Oxford and I have made some lovely friends from around the globe, who have helped me appreciate and understand their own culture.
Thank goodness we are all different and all individuals or it would be a really boring and bland world.
I live in ( well just outside) Oxford, England and it is fantastically diverse due to all the students, academics and people who come from all over the world and the UK of course. You hear all sort of languages from Russian to Zulu, you meet people who are from places you have never even heard from and the place is a melting-pot of nationalities and cultures. It is a relatively small city ( around 130000 people) but it has an incredibly cosmopolitan feel and I love it. Diversity is wonderful and I do value it but on the other hand it should not be "forced".
The very small town I actually live in is completely the opposite in Oxford , very few black or Asian people for example ( quite a few foreigners but they just blend in somehow) but it's great as well , as it is just the way it has happened. Diversity should be an organic thing, not something planned for.
I do think though that a cultural diverse society is richer and far more fun, more interesting too. I am always humbled by how little I know of some places and cultures when I meet all those fantastic people in Oxford and I have made some lovely friends from around the globe, who have helped me appreciate and understand their own culture.
Thank goodness we are all different and all individuals or it would be a really boring and bland world.
so glad someone from outside of the borders of the US chimed in. i can imagine "forcing" diversity winding up seeming ... forced, or artificial and sort of thereby homogenized like a topiary garden or something. some of the "forced" or segregation that can and does go on with suburbanization and other planned situations often seems to wind up with that kind of affect.
Everything is forced diversity now: jobs and schools (affirm. action), our communities ("fair housing"), the media (even one of the Keebler elves is dark-skinned), etc.
There are still some of us who would rather be with our own kind. I suggest society respect and tolerate our views.
Everything is forced diversity now: jobs and schools (affirm. action), our communities ("fair housing"), the media (even one of the Keebler elves is dark-skinned), etc.
There are still some of us who would rather be with our own kind. I suggest society respect and tolerate our views.
I agree, if you just want to be amongst wabbits, you should be aloud to!
concerning the "jena six" . people sometimes happen to find themselves living in the same community at the same time. and, for example, they are ALL people.
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jena six
